Hearts Out To Dry
by DistractionCake
Summary: It's 2:03PM. The wedding's in 57 minutes. It needs to be stopped.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Spoilers, speculation, and fandom wishes have run amok. This idea hit my head and would not leave me alone. So, here we go:

Pairings: Faberry, Kurtofsky

_It's too late, you're too late_

* * *

><p>He's pacing the halls trying desperately not to bite his nails and ruin the manicure he got a few days ago with Mercedes. He checks his phone <em>2:03PM. <em>Exactly three minutes after he last checked. God, this is killing him. Where is she?

"Kurt, you okay?" Blaine asks as he comes to join Kurt in the hallway that leads to both the main room and the rooms that are being used by Finn and Rachel to get ready.

"No, I am not okay, Blaine. What on Earth could possibly make you believe anything that is happening right now is okay?" Kurt asks exasperated. He checks his phone. _2:04PM_

"I just don't understand why this is such a big deal to you. They love each other, her parents and your parents are both supporting it, why can't you? I mean, I think it's kind of romantic." Blaine says trying to get his boyfriend to calm down.

"Romantic? Romance isn't _this_. Romance isn't giving up on your dreams because they're suddenly a little harder. Romance isn't tying yourself down to someone because of some delusional warped view of love and the future. I used to think they were both smart enough to know better, but I guess I was wrong. And as for my parents and hers, they're still under the illusion that Finn and Rachel will realize this is a bad idea and stop it, even though the wedding is at 3:00PM and it's already" Kurt checks the time again on his phone "_2:07PM_ and _she's _not here yet!" Kurt screeches.

"Kurt, I think you should calm down and-" Blaine's newest attempt at calming down Kurt is cut short when the sounds of Adele's Someone Like You fill the room.

"Oh thank God." Kurt mutters. "Where in God's name are you? I need you here now! The wedding starts in" He glances at his phone's screen before shrieking "52 minutes! You're the only one who can help me stop this mess before it's too late!"

"My car's battery died. I'm stuck waiting for Roadside Assistance to come help me out."

"Quinn! What do we do? We can't- " Quinn cuts Kurt's rambling short with a steady "_Hummel_".

"You need to not panic right now. You need to breath and think and find a way to stop this wedding yourself, because I don't think I'm going to make it in time." Quinn says. She kicks at the front tire of her car aimlessly. She turns around and looks around the empty road, mentally cursing herself for taking a back road that's practically always deserted. Mentally cursing Finn and Rachel for picking a stupid service that holds its wedding ceremony's on the outskirts of Lima. Mentally cursing her stupid car battery.

"I... I don't know what to do." Kurt says his voice trembling.

Quinn sighs. She knows this is a mistake on Finn and Rachel's part. She just knows it; she feels it in her gut. She's barely been sleeping at night, tossing and turning with images of Rachel stuck working at some shitty karaoke bar in NYC, where she survives on tips and gets treated to nightly ass grabs and barely makes a living to support herself and that man-child Finn Hudson. She _knows _this is a mistake.

What she doesn't know is why no one – other than Kurt – seems to see it. What she doesn't know is where Rachel's brain went, because this is seriously the stupidest thing she has ever done; and _God _that girl does some stupid things. What she doesn't know is why she cares so much that her heart feels like it's breaking just at the thought of what's going to happen in less than an hour. What she doesn't know is why she suddenly feels like she can't breath over the lump forming in her throat. She takes a deep breath and makes sure her voice is steady enough before talking to Kurt again.

"You'll figure something out; I know you will." with those parting words Quinn ends the call and tries desperately not to cry.

–

Kurt looks at his phones screen, blinking out the information on the call that was just ended, before going back to its home screen and telling Kurt it's officially _2:18PM_. Kurt's hands are shaking as he takes a deep breath and faces Blaine.

"Quinn's car battery died. She probably won't make it in time to the wedding." He says as steady as he can.

"Well, maybe that's a sign you two should stop all this nonsense and just trust that Finn and Rachel know what they're doing." Blaine says, relieved that the whole '_Stop the Wedding!_' Plan is over.

"That's the thing though, Blaine. They don't know what they're doing and if you can't see that well.." Kurt trails off, looking towards the other end of the hallway.

"Well what, Kurt?"

"I can't stop this thing by myself. I need Quinn and I need you."

"Kurt, please will you just-"

"If you aren't going to help me, then please leave and join the other guests." Kurt says. He's heartbroken that his own boyfriend can't see what's so blatantly obvious.. and if he's honest, he's hurt that Blaine doesn't have his back on this.

With a deep sigh, Blaine turns around and heads back over to the entrance into the main room. As soon as the door shuts behind Blaine, Kurt opens his phone again heading over to the messages icon. He blinks away the tears as he types in a text to the only other person he can think of who will have his back.

_I need your help_


	2. Chapter 2

_We all know ourselves well_  
><em>Winter has dug in its heels<em>  
><em>Living like all love we worked for was something we stole.<em>

* * *

><p>Quinn rests against the hood of her car when she hears the tell-tale signs of the tow truck arriving. She checks the time <em>2:30PM<em>. It only took them 40 minutes to get to where she is. Outstanding.

"Miss, if you'll get off the hood and get your things out of the car, we can do this." the gruff voice of the tow truck driver says to her. She gets up and opens the driver's side door and reaches for her purse. She shuts the door and gives the driver a fake smile. "All yours." He mumbles something unintelligibly as he begins to move around chains and such.

Ten minutes later the car is finally being lifted and they're getting ready to leave. As the driver stops the machine to make sure everything's in order, Quinn hears a car coming their way. She turns around and spots a blue broken down pick-up truck headed her way. The truck stops right next to her.

"Get in."

"Karofsky, what the hell?" Quin says, her eyebrows almost reaching her hairline with how shocked she is right now.

"Look, I don't have time to explain. You've got 20 minutes to stop that wedding. Are you coming or not?" he says as he reaches over to manually unlock the door.

It takes Quinn a a few seconds to process what he's said, before she pulls out a piece of paper and a pen from her purse and scribbles down her address. She runs towards the tow-truck driver that's waiting for her and hands it to him.

"Take the car to this address." He mumbles something, but Quinn's already practically in Dave's truck before he even finishes. Before the door even fully shuts, Dave hits the gas.

–

They're almost 10 miles over the speed limit as they drive towards that stupid country house.

"How did you know?" Quinn finally asks him.

"Kurt texted me."

"You and Kurt are friends now?" She asks incredulously.

"It's.. it's complicated, okay? It doesn't matter anyway, what matter is we stop this dumb wedding."

Dave chances a glance at Quinn when she doesn't say anything. She's staring at him intently.

"What?"

"I just... I just remembered something Santana said back when I asked her what she had on you that forced you to do the the whole Bully Whips thing. She said it was_ complicated_." Quinn tells him. They lock eyes for a brief second, before he turns back to looking at the road. That word: _complicated_. It was Santana's answer every single time Quinn tried to talk to her about her relationship with Brittany last year. It had surprised her when Santana had used the exact same word to define her relationship with Karofsky. Quinn had once thought maybe he.. she had shaken thought out of her head, because she thought it was ridiculous. Now, though? Now it seems to be the only answer.

"Look, Quinn –

"You're gay and you're in love with Kurt aren't you?" She asks bluntly. He flinches.

"Quinn –

"I'm not judging you here, I just want you to be honest with me."

"How about I'm honest with you the day you're honest with yourself." Dave snaps at her.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I might have been in the closet all those years at McKinley – hell I still am – but that doesn't mean my gaydar's broken." He says glancing at her.

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about." Quinn says gritting her teeth._ Who the hell does he think he is?_

"Oh come on, Quinn. Tell me that looking at me isn't like looking in a damn mirror."

"I've never threatened to kill Rachel." She snaps at him harshly. "I wasn't a monster like you were to Kurt."

"You might as well have been. You treated her like shit. You think us jocks didn't go into her stupid MySpace videos and see what you wrote? You think I didn't notice the way you treated her? You don't think words hurt just as much –_ hell_, they hurt even more – than being shoved into a locker? And the fact of the matter is, I never even mentioned her name and you just knew who I was talking about."

"Fuck off." Quinn's heart clenches painfully thinking back at how she treated Rachel. Her eyes start to water and _dammit_ where are all these emotions coming from?

"I get what it's like to not be ready to listen to that voice in the back of your head saying shit you don't want to hear. I get what it's like to not understand what the hell is wrong with your heart. I get what it's like to be so scared that you hurt people you care about and I get what it's like to not be ready to deal with all of this stuff; so don't ever try to tell me that you and I aren't alike. The only thing that we have different is the fact that I can at least admit all these things to myself and that's me being_ honest_ with you." Dave finishes quietly, echoing Quinn's previous statement.

He looks over to Quinn again. Tears are running down her beautiful face as they lock eyes. A mutual understanding passes quietly between them and she gives him a shaky nod in answer. Before she can even fully turn her head back around it hits them.

"Dave watch out!"


	3. Chapter 3

_How did we come to this?_  
><em>Chips in the paint that we missed<em>  
><em>Hard to put my finger down on the day it turned cold<em>

* * *

><p>Kurt's pacing up and down the hallway. He check the time <em>2:58 PM. <em>He looks towards the end of the hallway and sees his parents and Rachel's Dads drag Finn into Rachel's room.

He jogs to catch up to them. The members of New Directions, plus Mr. Schue and Mrs. Pillsbury, all invade the hallway just outside the door.

"What's going on?" He asks to no one in particular.

"They're trying to stop the wedding." Puck answers him.

Kurt heads into the room and hears his Dad's words.

"You have no college plans, no job prospects, hell you don't even know how to wash the dishes and you honestly think we're just going to let you marry this girl and ruin her life?"

"I get it! I fucking get it! I'm not good enough!" Finn yells back at him.

"Honey that's not what we're saying." Carole says. "You kids just aren't ready for this. Please, I don't understand what the rush is. No one is saying you have to break up, but you have to be realistic about things."

"Listen to her, Finn." Kurt says.

"Shut the fuck up, Kurt." Finn says glaring at him with such intensity that, maybe in another time, might have scared him, but now? Now he just wants to fight back.

"Oh so you're this big tough man now, huh? You got it all figured out, then?" Kurt asks getting in his personal space.

"Kurt, please." Rachel tries to reason with him. Kurt turns to speak to her.

"I used to look up to you. Your determination, your focus. And now look at you, throwing it all away for some boy who isn't worth it." He says glaring at her. The room in dead silent and all Rachel can do is look away.

"Hey! Don't talk to her that way!" Finn says shoving Kurt.

Before Burt or anyone can get between them, Kurt shoves him right back. "Or what? You'll hit me? Come on, Finn. Prove to everyone in this room how totally mature you are and hit me."

"None of you understand!" Finn yells at him.

"You know what, Finn? The thing is, we all do. And that's what's really killing you isn't it? That everyone knows that you gave up on your future and that Rachel doesn't believe she'll make it in New York and that's why you're getting married."

"That's not true!"

"Isn't it? Prove me wrong! Prove to everyone in this room that this wedding is part of some 25 step plan on how to succeed in New York." Kurt says, his voice dripping with enough sarcasm that even Santana Lopez would be jealous. "You can't. Because neither of you are looking at the big picture. For _God's sake_ _Finn_, you couldn't even get a job when you thought Quinn was having your baby and now I'm supposed to believe you'll get one in New York without a college degree that will be good enough to support both you and Rachel?"

Finn stays quiet at that.

"Tell me, Finn. Do you even know how to turn on the washing machine? Do you even know what health insurance is?"

"Just stop, Kurt!" Rachel yells at him. Before Kurt can say anything else, his phone rings.

_St. Mary's Hospital _flashes on his screen.

He swears his heart just landed in his stomach.

Kurt turns away from them and answers the phone with a shaky hello. His Dad must see his face, because he's quickly asking Kurt what's wrong.

"This is Nurse Smith and I'm calling from St. Mary's Lima Hospital. I'm looking for a Kurt Hummel?"

Kurt stares at his Dad and Carole standing in one corner of the room; Hiram and LeRoy stand directly across from them, and the New Directions are all still standing in the hallway peeking into the room. Kurt swallows before he answers: "Speaking."

"Mr. Hummel, I'm sorry to inform you that there's been an accident. A one David Karofsky was severely injured and is currently in emergency operation, but he would not go until we promised to call you. He wanted us to give you a message."

Kurt turns around and sees Rachel staring at him with tears in her eyes. Finn's looking down at his shoes, his whole face contorted in such a way it's clear he's hurt.

"What was the message?" Kurt finally asks.

"He said to tell you he was sorry." A sob rips from Kurt's chest and he drops the phone like it's on fire. Carole quickly comes over to him, while Burt picks up the phone to see what the hell is going on.

"Hello? Ok. Thank you, I'll tell him." with that Burt hangs up the phone and turns to Kurt. "Son, why is the Hospital calling to tell you that that Karofsky punk is there? And what female passenger? Just what the hell is going on?" All eyes are on Kurt as he turns to face Rachel. He takes a deep breath to calm himself down before he speaks.

"I'm done trying to help those who don't want it when there are plenty of people out there who want it- no, who_ need _it – and are willing to do anything to get it. I was so desperate to stop this stupid wedding that I..." He trails off, not knowing how to continue. "No one was doing anything! No one was helping to stop this nonsense!" He says turning to face his parents and the rest of the people in the room. He manages to lock eyes with Blaine, who's leaning against the doorway. "I called Dave because he was the only person I could think of that could help me."

"Son, that punk –

"That _punk_ is my friend! That punk has apologized for everything he's ever done to me and he's trying so hard to make it up to me. That punk just drove like a maniac to pick up Quinn Fabray whose car broke down just so she could be here on time to stop all this! That punk is lying in a hospital bed right now, along with Quinn, because they got in an accident and I – " He can't even finish his sentence before he starts to break down.

Shocked silence engulfs the room as no one knows what to do or what to say.

"Carole, I'm going to drive Kurt to the hospital. You can stay here if you want to and I'll come pick you up later." Burt finally says. If Burt's honest, he has no idea what's going on. What he does know is that he failed his son. His son – who he would give the whole damn world for – was desperate enough to call someone who doesn't, at least to Burt, even deserve the light of day because he wasn't there to have his back. He doesn't understand what's going on, but he'll be dammed if he doesn't always stand by Kurt when he needs it the most.

"No, I'm going with you." Carole answers. With those words, Kurt shakily nods at them and heads for the exit. He and Blaine lock eyes just before he exits. No words are spoken and so Kurt continues on his way out of the house, with his Dad's hand on his shoulder, strong and firm and just _there._


	4. Chapter 4

_Oh how the time will fly by  
>We were so careless to run from the words that we spoke<em>

* * *

><p>It doesn't take long before the rest of the members of New Directions follow out. Mercedes and Sam join Santana and Brittany in Santana's car, while Artie heads out with Puck. Tina and Mike give a sympathetic look towards Rachel, before leaving as well. Sugar and Rory go to find Sugar's driver so he can get them to the hospital.<p>

"We're sorry." Mr. Schue says to Rachel's Dads as he and Mrs. Pillsbury head out as well.

Rachel stares at the door trying her hardest to process how what was supposed to be the second happiest day of her life – the first obviously being when she wins her Tony – turned into this living nightmare. It's not until her Daddy speaks to her that she snaps out of it and it all starts to finally sink in.

"_Oh God_" She honestly feels like she's about to throw up. "Oh God, oh God, oh God." She suddenly rips the veil off of her head and starts to frantically try to take off her dress.

"Rachel, honey calm down." Hiram says as he moves to help unzip her.

"No, no, no. This is all wrong. It's all – _Oh God_ – what am I doing?" Rachel says feeling like the rug has just been pulled out from under her. She was about to marry Finn and _God_ when was that ever part of the plan? When did that ever sound like a good idea? She's still in high school and she still has such an amazing life ahead of her and – _Oh God_– Quinn. Quinn's in the hospital and -

Rachel barely has enough time to sprint, while still in her underwear, to the bathroom to throw up. She retches into the toilet while she feels her Dad come over and hold her hair and rub her back.

"It's okay honey, let it all out." LeRoy says while Hiram brings Rachel some clothes to put on. As soon as she's done, she puts on her pair of jeans and a shirt and washes her mouth. As she heads back into the room she sees Finn staring at her.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" he asks her.

"This was a mistake, Finn. Kurt was right, he was _so _right. And now, God, now Quinn's in the hospital and –

"Who cares about Quinn?" Finn asks frantically. "Don't do this Rachel. They're wrong, they're all wrong. Just, put your dress back on and marry me, please." he says desperately.

"No, Finn. I.. I can't do that." With those words Rachel goes to leave the room with her Dads trailing behind her.

"If you walk out that door, we're over! It's over Rachel! You and me, what you've always wanted, it'll all be over!" Finn screams at her.

Rachel stops just as she's about to walk out the door. The reality of what she was about to do and about what has happened hits her hard. She feels as though her head has suddenly cleared for the first time in weeks and she knows, she finally _knows _what she's doing. She walks straight up to Finn who sighs in relief.

"You're wrong. New York is what I've always wanted, not you; and I have no idea how I ever forgot that. My dreams are bigger than you Finn, they always have and the always will be." With those words she takes off the ring she had insisted on wearing to the last possible minute and places it into his hands. "I'm sorry." They lock eyes for a brief moment before she leaves.

As the Berry's leave the room, Finn stares at the ring in his hands. Anger bubbles up inside him and he kicks the nearest chair and storms out to the back of the house. As Finn heads to the back, Blaine who is now standing in the hallway leaning against the wall, slides down to the floor and holds his head in his hands. Finn mimics his position against the back wall of the house and the two of them are left sitting there confused, alone, and lost. Lost, wondering how in the world their love wasn't enough.


	5. Chapter 5

(a/n: this is chapter [5/6])

_How the lights dim, heavenly  
>Taking back what was mine<em>

* * *

><p>As Carole and Kurt reach the hospital entrance, they're instructed to wait over by some chairs until a doctor comes out and informs them of what happened. Burt catches up to them just as they reach the waiting area, mumbling something about the parking. They all stop dead in their tracks as they see Judy Fabray and Paul Karofsky sitting there.<p>

"Judy." Carole says softly as she walks over. Judy looks up and quickly stands and let's herself get comforted by Carole. She's crying hard and Carole tries her hardest to calm her down.

Paul gets up and tries to speak, but all that comes out is an unintelligible noise before Burt hugs him. This man's son might have been scum, but _God _he's just a kid, and that just as easily could have been _Kurt _and the though alone makes Burt want to die. He hugs Paul tighter.

–

It's not long before the rest of the New Directions joins them in the waiting room. They're all anxious and nervous and just as desperate for some news.

"Families of Lucy Fabray and David Karofsky." a Doctor says holding a clipboard and looking around. If things hadn't been so tense, Kurt is sure he would have found it amusing that they all stood up. The doctor tries to talk to Mrs. Fabray and Mr. Karofsky in private before they tell him it's okay and to please just tell them all what happened.

"Your children were speeding along one of those back roads, according to the police officers. Do you have any idea why they were in such a rush?" he asks.

"They were trying to stop a wedding." Kurt answers him quietly.

"Were they, huh? Well, I hope it was worth it." he says, just as the waiting room door opens and Rachel and her Dads walk in.

Kurt honestly doesn't know if it was.

"Please, just tell us what happened? Is my Quinnie going to be okay?" Mrs. Fabray asks, already starting to cry again.

"The problem with those back roads is that you can never see if there are cars coming at you in the intersections. That's why those stop signs were put up, but since no one ever drives them, people never stop. There was another driver in a truck who ran his stop sign at the same time your children did. Their pick-up was hit on the driver's side, and it was hit hard. The thing ended up flipping over quite a few times before landing on its hood."

A sob escapes Mrs. Fabray and she holds on tighter to Carole.

"But are they okay?" Mr. Karofsky asks desperate for some answers.

"Only time will tell. Ms. Fabray literally broke her window with her head, cracking her head open. She's got a severe concussion. Her right arm got dislocated and she broke it in a few places. Her wrist and fingers on that same arm got broken, too. She fractured 2 ribs. As for Mr. Karofsky, his head also broke his window which also resulted in a severe concussion. He broke his neck and broke 3 ribs. His spleen ruptured as well. We've put them both in medically induced coma's in order to monitor things properly. The next 48 hours are crucial. They've been moved to intensive care for the time being. That's all I have for now."

"Can we at least see them?" Judy asks.

"Normally, it would only be allowed for family members to go in, but I'll let it slide this time. Just make it quick okay?" He says with a sad smile before leaving.

It takes a while for everyone to go and by the time they come out they're all crying messes. Kurt had decided to go last. The only other person in the room that hadn't gone in was Rachel, who was sitting by herself in a chair at the end of the hallway.

Kurt goes into Quinn's room first and just looks at her. Tears well up in his eyes and he shakes his head. He walks out and heads to Karofsky's room. He can't hold in his tears anymore and he just collapses on a chair and cries. He manages to calm himself down long enough to stand over Dave.

"I'm.. I'm the one whose sorry." he says. He kisses Dave's forehead gently before exiting the room. The only people left are his parents, Dave's parents, Mrs. Fabray, and Rachel and her Dads.

Kurt walks over to his Dad and just hugs him. He's crying hard and he knows it, because Dave didn't deserve this.

"It's okay, champ. It's okay." Burt says softly.

After he's calmed down his Dad speaks again.

"We're dropping off Carole with Judy at the Fabray house so they can pick up a few things to spend the night here." Kurt just nods as he let's his Dad lead them out. He's exhausted and broken. When they get in the car, Kurt pinches himself willing this to all be a dream. When he doesn't wake up, he knows that sometimes reality really can be a nightmare. He checks his phone.

_ 7:03PM _


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** This is the final part. Thanks to all those who read & reviewed; it means a lot to me :) This is a bit short, but it was really the only way to end this.

_You should have seen the way you loved me_  
><em>Leaving our hearts out to dry<em>

* * *

><p>After everyone is gone, Rachel decides to go in. Her Dads offer to go with her, even though they already went; she shakes her head at them and goes by herself. This is something she needs to do alone. She takes a deep breath and stops by Dave's room first. She used to wish him the worst, but now... Now, seeing him laying there, she isn't sure it was ever worth it.<p>

When she enters Quinn's room, it's like her whole heart is breaking into pieces. Like it's literally breaking apart at the seams, splintering into tiny jagged pieces that crush her lungs - and suddenly she can barely breath through the lump in her throat and the tears rushing down her face hot and fast. She tries her hardest to muffle her cries into her sleeve, but it's no use. She walks over to the side of the hospital bed, until she's close enough to place her hand gently over Quinn's left one. She takes deep breaths to calm herself down. It takes all she has, but she manages it. Rachel looks over all the bandages covering Quinn's head and all the bruises forming on her face and the only thing that even remotely crosses her mind is that Quinn is still the prettiest girl she's ever seen.

__but she's a lot more than that__

Rachel leans down and gently kisses Quinn's chapped lips. The last thing she thinks of, before she leaves, is that Quinn once thanked her for saving her from making the biggest mistake of her life - and even though it sounds terrible - Rachel hopes she can soon thank her for returning the favor.


End file.
